2 icy sharp blasts in forecast for much of US

Published 9:19 am, Thursday, January 2, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — The new year's winter weather is threatening icy shock waves for the eastern two-thirds of the country.

The first cold blast set records Thursday in Minnesota and is expected to strike the Eastern U.S. on Friday with possibly single-digit temperatures in places. Boston's reading could fall to zero.

A second blast is expected to move from the Great Plains and Midwest on Sunday and Monday and into the East on Tuesday. The National Weather Service called for below-normal temperatures, high winds or heavy snow for most places east of a line from central Montana to Houston. Some meteorologists predicted subzero wind chills, possibly as far south as Atlanta.

But both cold shots should be fleeting with subsequent temperatures warming up quickly.